I would like you to turn in your Bibles this morning to John chapter 14.
!
Jesus said to him,
Have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, show us the Father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority.
But the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Believe in me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me
will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask in my name,
this will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me anything in my name,
I will do it.
Let's pray.
This morning, Father,
Father, I ask this in Jesus' name,
that he,
who enjoys the praise of angels,
and will be our great satisfaction in eternity,
will be the one that is rightly seen this morning
through the enabling of the Spirit of God
in the lives of those who are believers,
and that seeing him,
the hearts and lives of those who know Christ that are here today
would be formed and shaped to be more like him,
to be effective witnesses and testifiers
to the glory and supremacy of Christ,
and that those that are here today that do not know the Lord Jesus
would be drawn by your Spirit
to see the darkness and the bankruptcy of their soul
and be brought by grace to see that there is no hope apart from Jesus.
Give me your strength
that I might lift up Jesus
and that he might be seen worthy, glorious, sufficient, all satisfying.
Protect us from our own indifference
to the glory and supremacy of Christ.
Remove things that would be an impediment
to our focus this morning,
and we ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
I have to say that this is a sermon
that probably requires more prayer than last week's.
I was preaching on stewardship last week,
in case anybody forgot,
and I let you know that it's probably my last one here
because Pastor Shearer will be preaching full bore on stewardship next year.
I don't know exactly what he's going to do,
but it's like someone walked by me Sunday morning
after the sermon and said,
hey, we heard your first one,
and we heard your last one.
A pretty interesting statement.
I appreciate those who have stayed with me
and borne the outcome over the years.
But I have to tell you that this passage
is one that it's full beyond imagination.
And the frailty of the human mind,
as you gather so much,
is that I know there's a limit
to how much you will endure
in the next hour and a half.
And so you're thinking,
really?
I was teasing in case you didn't know.
But there's so much here, honestly,
that deserves our attention this morning
that I would plead with you
that you will persist in being in prayer
that the Spirit of God
would make the Lord Jesus Christ clear
and glorious in your thinking.
And that is a work that we need
the enabling of the Holy Spirit to attend to.
Now, having said that,
I want you to understand the context
of John chapter 14, verse 8.
You remember that what has taken place
beginning back actually in John chapter 13 on
is that Jesus has been ministering
to His disciples.
We had the upper room
where He performed the Last Supper
and invited His disciples to do this
on a regular basis in the future.
He spoke to Judas and His betrayal
and of Judas and His betrayal.
He then ministers,
and what we're dealing with this morning
is a portion of the ministry of Christ
to His disciples.
Jesus knows that He's going to die on the cross
in hours.
He knows that He is going to be betrayed
by one of His disciples.
He knows that He is going to suffer
separation from the Father,
which is something that in all of eternity past
had never taken place,
and it would be supremely significant
in the life of Christ.
And yet the thing that I find so stunning
is that in the face of what He knew was coming,
His affection and His interest
is in His disciples.
And what we find in John chapter 14,
remember back there in verse 1,
it says,
let not your heart be troubled.
How many of you can identify with being troubled?
I mean, all you have to do
is wake up in the morning
and realize that we live in a fallen,
broken world.
And the biggest problems that we have
really don't come to us through the media,
but we look at them in the mirror
on a day-to-day basis, do we not?
Was it Pogo that said,
we have met the enemy
and He is us?
I remember hearing Paul David Tripp
say that the fact of the matter is
is that the biggest problem I have is me.
And so here we are
looking at the world that we live in,
recognizing the challenges in our life,
and the words that Jesus spoke
to His disciples
are supremely significant to us
when we really get our hands around
just how challenging the day is.
The first part,
Jesus reminded the disciples,
He says, listen,
I want you to know how the story ends.
And it's good to remind ourselves
periodically of the fact
that what's going on today
is not the end of the story.
We look forward to the day
that we are going to see
the Lord Jesus Christ,
and as it says in the Scriptures
at numerous different occasions,
we'll be satisfied with that.
And so not only do we find
this encouragement
as to how the story ends,
but another thing
that Jesus brings to His disciples
is this very, very precious truth
that in the midst of our adversity
and our difficulties,
the most important thing for us to do
is to look on Jesus
and lock our eyes in on Him.
Not too long ago,
I was in a room talking with an individual
who is in the last days of his life.
And the individual was going through
some of the normal struggles
that come with that,
and as the individual was sharing with me
some of the challenges
that are being faced,
I encouraged the individual,
hey, say, listen,
fix your eyes on Jesus
because He is the one absolute certainty
that you can count on
that will be an encouragement
and a remedy for the challenges
that you are facing.
It reminds me a little bit,
last week Timothy Shearer
came marching into church,
and how many of you know
that he cut his finger?
Does anybody know that?
A couple of you know.
He took a whack at it
with a hatchet
and very thankfully
did not do anything more
than endure nine stitches
from Dr. Malumba.
And he'll show you this
after the service.
I'm positive.
I'll let you know.
And when I saw that,
I thought,
oh, poor Timothy.
And it really brought back
reminders of my youth.
My dad was a surgeon,
and so I had to show Timothy
all the cuts in my hand,
and I didn't pull up my pants legs,
but I've got them there too.
And it was kind of a fairly regular thing
that my dad would stitch me up.
Now, I always had to wait
because there were other
major surgeries going on,
and just kind of putting
the pieces together for Tim
was no big deal.
And I was like,
I'd wait for Dad,
and he'd come out and say,
oh, yeah, okay,
and then off we'd go.
I remember the first couple times
that my dad stitched me up,
it was a very traumatic experience.
Once you get experience,
you know, it's no big deal.
I mean, like seventh, eighth, ninth,
it's like, here we go again,
no problem.
But the first couple times
were pretty traumatic.
And my dad,
as he was injecting me with Novocaine,
how many of you know
that the doctors lie
when they say this is just
like a little mosquito bite?
Right?
Do you say that, Dr. Malumba?
I just check it.
Okay?
The first couple times,
here's what my dad said to me.
He said, Tim, look at my face.
Look at my face.
And looking in my father's face
made all the difference in the world
in handling the pain.
That's what we're dealing with here
when Jesus is talking to his disciples,
and they're struggling with the uncertainty
of what is coming.
they know
that the one they have loved
and followed for three years
is on the cusp.
He's told them,
I'm going to be crucified.
I'm going to be betrayed.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to rise.
And all of that's kind of
just blurred out
in a terrifying reality
of Jesus leaving.
And so Philip,
in the midst of that,
you know what he says?
Look at the passage.
He says,
Hey, listen.
Lord,
show us the Father
and it's enough for us.
Now we like to think
that Philip's request
is really pretty spiritual.
And it is on some aspects,
but I want you to follow with me
as Jesus gives his answer.
And what we're going to find
in this passage
is that Jesus is our full satisfaction.
Jesus really is the only one
who can completely satisfy
the longing of your soul
and deal with the heartache
and challenges
and adversity that you face.
Everything else is not sufficient.
And so as you look at this moment
and we hear Philip say,
Show us the Father.
I want you to understand
that Philip's request,
for one,
was actually understandable.
It really was.
And it was understandable
for several good reasons.
For one,
Philip was kind of asking
a question
that other individuals
have asked in the Scriptures.
You remember
when Moses had been given
the responsibility
of taking the nation of Israel,
that little ragged band
of grumpy people
on a long trip.
How many of you parents
have been a little frustrated
with the fact
that you've pulled out
of the driveway
and somebody in the back
of the car says,
Are we there yet?
And after you have invited
everybody to go
winky tinky,
you're down the road
about 10, 15 miles
and somebody says,
I have to go.
Just so you know,
I explained to my children
if they had to go,
we would pull over
on the side of the road
immediately.
My boys thought
that was okay.
My girls didn't.
But I want you
to understand,
here is Moses
leading the nation of Israel
into the promised land
and this group of people
were wearing him out.
And Moses says,
Well, listen,
show me your glory.
I need to see you.
And if you were to turn,
and I'm not going to ask
that you do it this morning,
but if you were to turn over
to Exodus chapter 33,
verse 18,
you'll find that
God showed himself
to Moses
and it was
an encouragement to him.
For another thing,
you'll remember
that Job speaks.
He said,
I shall be satisfied
when I awake
with thy,
what?
Thy likeness.
And we know
that the desire
of the heart of man
is to see that
which is supremely satisfying
and supremely beautiful
and that is
God the Father.
And so,
as we look at this,
we find Philip
asking a logical thing,
but I want you to know
another thing is
that Philip's request
was actually
a great testimony of faith.
Here he was,
faced with adversity
and difficulty,
and he was saying,
listen, I understand
what we're going
to go through.
I mean, at least I hear
you saying the words
and all I need,
just let me see God.
We've all been there
at some point in our life
where the incredible
challenges of the moment,
the heartache,
the loss
that we've been enduring,
a grief with a child
or a marriage
or whatever,
where we just cry out
and say,
Lord, I need to see you.
But at the same time,
I want you to understand
that Philip's question
showed that he really
didn't appreciate
the facts that he had
at hand.
I want you to hold on
to that just for a second.
Philip didn't appreciate
the facts that he had
at hand.
Everybody look up
so I know you understand
what I'm going to say next.
Very seldom do I,
in counseling,
ever tell people
something brand new.
at least in our fellowship
and most of the time,
I'm bringing back
into view
and into their thinking
things that they have heard
and seen
and understood before
and forgotten.
So here is Philip saying,
show us the Father
and the fact of the matter is
is that he'd been there
when Peter had confessed.
Remember,
Peter,
who do men say that I am?
Who do you say that I am?
Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
Philip had been in the boat
when they had been terrified
in the storm.
And then Jesus awakened
and he quieted it
with a word.
And do you know
what the scripture says,
both in Mark and Luke?
It says,
they were afraid before,
but now with the recognition
of the supremacy
of the one in the boat,
they were terrified.
Philip had seen Jesus
cast out demons.
He'd seen Jesus
heal all sorts of sicknesses.
He'd seen Jesus
raise the dead.
He had been there
to hear Jesus preach and teach.
And he had made connection
again and again
with the fact of
Christ's supremacy
and authority
and grasp of the Old Testament
and the fact that
he was the Messiah.
And yet on the moment,
under the adversity
of the hour,
Philip laid that aside
and he became
very anxious
and troubled.
And the fact of the matter
is,
is that when you really
come down to it,
we've all been
in the same place
that Philip was.
Isn't that right?
We've taken our eyes
off of Christ
just like Peter did
when he went down
and we've forgotten
the blessing
and the supremacy
and the sweetness
of the person
that has come to know us
as we've known
as our Savior
and we forget that.
And so,
here when we stop
and think about it,
I want you to recognize
we've been like Philip.
We really have.
I speak to most of you
this morning
that know the Lord Jesus Christ
as your Savior
and you are here
this morning
recognizing
the certainty
of your salvation.
you were taken
out of the kingdom
of darkness
and put into
his sweet kingdom
of light.
You've been blessed
as it says
in Ephesians,
you've been blessed
with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenlies.
You know
how the story
will end.
And yet,
there you are
faced with some
of the major trials
of your life
whether it's
a sickness
or a wayward child
or a marriage
that's struggling
or the loss
of a job
and at the moment
you find yourself
terrified
and you say
the one thing
I need
is just a better
view of God.
And I want you
to grasp
the sweet truth
of what Jesus says
and hold on to it.
He says there
in the passage
whoever,
verse 9,
whoever has seen me
has seen the Father.
How can you say
show us the Father?
whoever has seen me
has seen the Father.
What we understand
that to mean
is that Jesus
is all in all.
I think about
the passage
over in Colossians
where it says
in him
the fullness
of the Godhead
dwells.
Do you know
what it's saying?
It's saying
that Jesus Christ
is the one
who is entirely
sufficient
for satisfying
the deepest longing
of our heart.
I think about
the way in which
Revelation chapter,
I think it is 5,
plays out.
Revelation chapter 5.
Let's take a minute
just to go there
so I am speaking
accurately.
Revelation chapter 5.
It begins
with John
seeing the evidence
of a scroll
there in verse 1
written within
and on the back
sealed with seven seals
and a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice
who is worthy
to open the scroll
and break its seals.
And no one
in heaven
or on earth
or under the earth
was able to open
the scroll
or to look at it
and I began to weep
loudly
because no one
was found worthy
and who was worthy
to open the scroll?
Who was it?
The Lion of Judah.
The Lamb that was slain.
The one who is
our Redeemer
or our Savior.
That is the one
who is worthy
to open the scroll.
And what plays out
in the remainder
of chapter 5
is this unbelievable
recitation
of glory
to the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the Lamb
slain for our sins.
And so here we find
Jesus speaking
to His disciples
in the face
of the incredible adversity
that far surpasses
the moments
that we are facing
and in that thing
He says,
listen,
I'm the one
and I'm the one
who can satisfy
the heartache
and the need
that you have.
And so I've got
to tell you this,
we would do well
to think more
about Him now.
Now,
having said that,
what I want you
to recognize
that follows there
in John chapter 14
beginning there
in verse 10
and carrying on down
through the end
of the passage
that we're going
to study
is Jesus gives us
three explicit
indicators
of why He is
the God
and Father,
why He is
one with the Father
and why our view
of Him
is sufficient
to satisfy
the needs
of our heart.
that's what He does.
You look there
in the passage,
do you not believe,
verse 10,
that I am in the Father
and the Father
is in me?
Can you not make
this connection
of Jesus
being the complete
and satisfying
evidence
of the Father?
He is the Father.
I've got to tell you,
when we get to heaven,
I'm one
and there are those
who maybe see it differently.
I do not believe
that I'm ever going
to see God the Father.
I'm going to see Jesus
and that will satisfy me.
I will be fully satisfied
with seeing Him.
And here is
Jesus speaking
to Philip
who, you know,
in the midst of this mess,
just let me see God.
Jesus says,
hey listen,
let's get this straight.
I always spoke
the Father's words.
That's what He says
there in verse 10.
Look at it.
He says,
I do not speak
on my own authority.
What Jesus
was reminding Philip
was,
was that His union
and communion
with the Father
was such that
everything He said
was directly
according
to the Father's desire.
One of the things
that happens
as you get older
in marriage,
when marriage
is kind of
growing together,
how many of you know
as you get towards
the later year,
you can fill in
the sentences?
Now,
that doesn't mean
that speech
becomes unnecessary.
You know,
I like to hear
Judith talk,
but I do know
what she's going
to say
in many instances.
Very,
very frail
illustration.
Here is Jesus
saying,
let me tell you
something,
what I say
the Father says.
Over in John
chapter 7,
16,
you're in John,
just look back
for a second
to the passage
in John chapter 7
verse 16.
Here's what Jesus
said.
He said,
Jesus answered them,
my teaching
is not mine,
but his
who sent me.
There was a question
about,
what are you teaching?
He said,
well,
I'm teaching
what the Father
once taught.
You look over
at another passage
in John chapter 12
and go ahead
and go to that one,
John chapter 12
verse 49.
Jesus says this,
for I have not
spoken of my own
authority,
but the Father
who sent me,
he has himself
given me a commandment.
what to say
and what to speak.
You know,
there's a time
for Robert Frost
and William Shakespeare
and Martin Luther King
or whatever else,
but at the end
of the day,
the truth of the matter
is this,
is that what God
has to say
is sufficient
and supreme
and satisfying
and it's the best
thing to rely upon.
But I've got to
make this point clear.
Jesus wasn't just
talking about God,
he was God's word
and God himself
speaking in human form
to us
in John chapter 6
verse 68
when Jesus asked
the disciples
after the lengthy sermon
where most everybody left,
he said,
are you guys going
and what did Peter say?
Where are we going?
You have the words of life.
And then again,
in John chapter 7
verse 46
in the same context
that we are,
one of the things
that takes place
is people come back
and they say this,
no one ever spoke
like this man.
Now what was it
about Christ speaking
that made his words
so powerful?
What was it?
It was that he was
in fact God incarnate.
And that was it.
And here is
Philip
struggling
with the adversity
of his moment
and Jesus says,
listen,
get this straight.
You want to see God?
You've got me.
And everything
I have said
has been God's word.
Second thing
that we find there
in the passage
in John chapter 14
is that Jesus
always did
the Father's work.
Jesus always
did the Father's work.
You look there,
you're working through
the latter part
of verse 10.
He says,
I do not speak
on my own authority
but the Father
who dwells in me
does his works.
Now,
I've got to admit,
it's a little bit
of a stretch
for us to kind of
step from word
to work, right?
But that's what happened.
First point is,
Jesus always spoke
the Father's words.
Secondly,
Jesus always did
the Father's works.
I love the logic
that you find there
in verse 11
that kind of supports
and fills it out.
It says,
believe me
that I am in the Father
and the Father
is in me
or else believe
on account
of the works themselves.
Look at what is happening
as evidence
of my deity.
I think back
to when Moses
came back
from the burning bush
and his concern
was,
well,
how am I going
to be able
to demonstrate
to the people
of Israel,
the Jews,
and to Pharaoh
that I am your messenger?
And God said,
hey, listen,
I'm going to give you
a couple demonstrative,
I'm going to give you
some miracles
that are going to prove.
And remember
the starting point,
a couple of them,
the Pharaoh's magicians
were able to pull off.
But they reached the point
where the magician said,
this is the,
can anybody fill it out
for me?
This is the finger,
that's beyond us.
There's no hocus pocus here.
We can't pull this one off.
This is for real.
And Jesus over and over again
did miracles
that were undeniable evidence
of God being at work
in that situation.
I go back
to the illustration
where Jesus was in the storm
and the disciples
were kind of freaking out
because there's a mess
and they thought
they were going to drown,
you know,
and Jesus is sleeping
in the boat.
They wake him up
and just a word,
bang,
it all shuts down
immediately.
Now they had been
afraid of the storm
but they were terrified
at the presence
of Christ.
And so here we are,
Jesus is reminding
Philip,
hey,
weigh the evidence.
I've done works
that no one
but God could do.
The things I've done
are undeniable proof
that I am God.
Incidentally,
while we do not prove
our deity
by the works
that we do,
we do show
that we're His children
when we behave
like He
calls us to behave.
Isn't that right?
Huh?
So do your works
and prove
you are His
or you have good reason
to ask yourself,
am I really
one of His children?
I think that's important
for us to recognize
when Jesus
works in the life
of a believer,
there is every reason
to see the evidence
of transformation
and change.
Jesus always did
the Father's work.
would be nice
for us to focus
on that
and do it ourselves.
Let's come
to the third point.
Jesus always glorified
the Father.
Now,
allow me to make
a transition here
from verse 11
to verse 12
for you.
In verse 11,
Jesus made the point
that His works
proved His deity.
He then explained,
and I'm going to look
at this with you
just for a moment,
verse 12.
He says,
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
whoever believes in Me
will also do the works
that I do,
and greater works
than these
will he do.
Now,
how many of you
have heard that verse
along with verse 14,
if you ask Me
anything in My name,
I will do it,
used as verses
to kind of
pitch the idea
that if we ask
anything we want,
we ought to get it?
Right?
How many of you
have ever heard that?
Yeah,
you can go home
this afternoon
and listen to
televangelists
who will tell you
that all you have
to do is ask God
for whatever you want
and send in a check
for $200,
and you're getting it.
There's a song
that I am not inclined
to sing,
but it's a good one.
It has this little line
in it saying,
but tell me this,
would Jesus ever wear
a Rolex on His TV show?
These verses
have been woefully misused
and people are real suckers
for them.
Does anybody ever hear
about anybody
walking on water,
by the way?
And when you hear
about all these miraculous,
you know,
faith healing,
blah, blah, blah,
why don't they go
to Children's?
I mean, honestly,
do you know that Jesus
showed up at places
like Children's
and He did slam dunks
on everybody
that came through?
I mean,
the whole crowd.
Do you follow that?
Nobody ever walked away
saying,
yeah, but.
When Jesus was turned loose,
it was really bad
for the medical community
if they were counting
on making their checks
that way.
You know,
it's like,
oh,
sorry, honey,
no surgeries today.
What happened?
Jesus came to town.
I mean,
do you follow that?
And we live in a world
where I just,
stop, Tim,
you're going off track.
Okay.
Listen.
Here's what Jesus says.
He says,
you know,
you're going to do
greater works than this.
I'm not going to walk
on water.
I'm never going
to heal anybody.
I may suggest
an aspirin or two,
but that's the limit
of my ability.
You know,
but you know
what I have?
What is the greatest work
that Christ came to do?
Does anybody know?
What's the greatest work
that he came to do?
Tell me.
He came to save people.
I get to be part of that.
Isn't that right?
I am pumped
this morning
because I've got
an opportunity
tomorrow morning
to share the gospel
with a person
I've been working on
for about a year.
I'm out taking care
of the dog
and the guy walks
across the neighborhood
and says,
hey,
about a month ago
he was in a poor mood
and I said,
well,
why don't we do coffee?
And here he is.
I've tried to reach out
to him.
No opening,
no opening.
He walks across the lawn
and he says,
hey,
we need to get together.
I said,
yes.
I get to talk
to that guy
about the only one
who can change his life.
Huh?
Does it get any better
than that?
I watched my dad
stitch people up.
I watched my dad
help people
with medical problems
and the truth of the matter
is they all died.
Do you understand that?
They all died.
But people
who come to faith
in Christ
when the story's told,
they are not
the same person.
Old things
are passed away.
Behold,
what?
All things
have become new.
And Jesus says to us,
guess what?
You are going to be involved
in some bigger things
than I've ever done.
Why?
Because the cross
is going to be behind him
in just a couple hours
and we get to tell people,
let me tell you,
Jesus died for your sins.
It's good,
isn't it?
You're going to do
great works.
You're going to do
great works.
As you look
at this passage,
Jesus says,
hey, listen,
I always glorified
the Father.
Where do we find that?
Look at verse 13.
Whatever you ask
in my name,
this will I do
that the Father
may be glorified
in the Son.
Do you know
what I have a problem with?
Same thing
you have a problem with.
I sometimes forget
that Tim is not
the center of the universe.
How about you?
I need to be reminded,
Jesus is.
I love that passage.
In fact,
go ahead and look at it
because it's just
a real zinger for me.
It's one of those
that I have memorized
and sticks in my mind
and I use
on a fairly regular basis
in pastoral ministry.
Philippians chapter 2,
verse 20 and 21.
Paul is talking
about Timothy,
not this one,
but the one back then
and here's what he says.
I have no man
who is like him
for all,
who will genuinely
be concerned
for your welfare.
Bear with me.
I have no man
who is like-minded
who will naturally
care for your estate,
King James,
for all seek their own
and not the things
of Jesus Christ.
We're about ourselves
and here's Jesus saying,
let me tell you something.
I am all about my Father.
It's fair to say
that Jesus came
to save sinners
but even more significant
than that,
Jesus came to glorify
the Father.
That's the thing
that stands out
above all else.
And this morning
as you think
about the supremacy
and the significance
and the sweetness
of Jesus,
understand this,
that the truth
behind his coming
and the goal
of redemption
is really not just
the matter
of saving lost
and ruined sinners.
It is the glory
of God
and the supremacy
of God
that is in focus.
Turn with me
just for a second
before we close
to what we find
in John chapter 17
verse 1
and verse 4.
I got to tell you,
I'll just tell you
ahead of time,
we're going to march
our way through John
and get done with it
but in a different life
I'd probably preach
on John 17
for about a year.
It is dynamite.
I know.
Keep moving.
John 17.
When Jesus
had spoken these words,
he lifted up
his eyes to heaven
and said,
Father,
the hour has come.
Glorify your Son
that the Son
may glorify you.
Verse 4.
I glorified you
on earth
having accomplished
the work
that you gave me
to do.
This morning,
every one of us,
every one of us
that is here
that knows Jesus
as our personal Savior
will find our greatest
satisfaction
in the day
that we see him
face to face.
Do you understand that?
It will never
get any better
than that.
And one of the things
that it says,
in 1 John 3,
it says,
he that has this hope
in him
purifies himself.
Hey,
getting excited
about the thought
of seeing Jesus
someday
does something
pretty significant
with the messy life
you have.
You don't have to go
to the self-help aisle
to deal with
the trash in your life.
Try Jesus
and get your eyes
fixed on him.
And here is Jesus
saying to Philip
who's kind of
twerked out
about the mess
that's coming.
He says,
please show me
the Father.
Jesus says,
hey,
look at me.
Look at me.
Hebrews chapter 12,
verse 1
and 2.
Seeing,
therefore,
that we are
encompassed by
such a great
cloud of witnesses,
let us
run the race
with patience.
Doing what?
Looking unto Jesus
who is the author
and finisher
of our faith.
Listen to me.
There are some of you
that haven't figured out
that the messy,
unhappy life
you're living
is really because
you're so focused
on yourself.
And you'd like
to blame other people
for not joining you
and focusing on
yourself.
In fact,
you're a little irritated
with other people
for not being
more focused
on you.
Can I tell you
there is no remedy
for being self-focused
apart from the grace
of God
that helps us
understand
that there is
only one worthy
of all the glory
and that's Jesus.
And so it is
appropriate for us
today
who know Christ,
who've maybe
lost our first love
to cry out
and say,
Lord,
you need to deal
with me.
I am sick
of being
a self-focused,
unhappy,
grumpy person.
By the way,
you can ask your wife
as you're driving home,
how am I doing
at being unhappy,
grumpy,
and since Jesus
is the remedy,
do you think
I need to work
at that?
That's really gutsy.
Or you can say it
to your mom
or your dad,
you know,
but I need
to get things right.
There's some of you
here that don't
know Christ.
I don't know
your heart,
but I gotta tell you,
you will either
see him
as the satisfaction
of all eternity
or you will see him
as the judge
who will condemn you
to an eternity
in hell
for refusing
his offer
of salvation
through his faith,
grace and faith.
And I would plead
with you this morning,
make it right
before it's too late.
Let's close
in prayer.
Our Father God,
this morning,
we understand
that the purpose
of preaching
is not to entertain us
but to bring us
to the point
of saying yes
or no to God.
You who are
supremely worthy
of all adoration
and praise,
you that will occupy
the glory of heaven
for all of eternity
and will satisfy
our lives
beyond our wildest
expectation
and imagination
call to us
this morning
and encourage us
to set our affections
upon things
that are above,
to set our eyes
on Jesus
that the adversity
of life
is not overwhelming,
that the challenge
of becoming
someone other
than who we are
by our nature
may take place
through the ministry
of the Spirit of God
as we see in Christ
are changed
from glory
into glory.
Now is the time
to put the matter
on the table
and make decisions
that honor Christ
and we ask
the Spirit's help
for the glory
of our Savior
in whose name
we pray.
Amen.